The Star Spangled Banner will no longer be played at rallies at California High School in San Ramon after student leaders determined the song is racially insensitive.

“It was brought to our attention that the national anthem’s third verse is outdated and racially offensive, wrote the president of the school’s Associated Study Body. “We had nothing but good intentions by removing the song so that we could be fully inclusive to our student body.”

The decision to eliminate the national anthem from student rallies has resulted in a significant amount of backlash from patriotic students and residents.

“There’s been a lot of push back on the removal of the anthem – and not just from conservatives,” senior Dennis Fiorentino said on the Todd Starnes Radio Show.

Fiorentinos, who was a guest Tuesday on my nationally syndicated radio program, said he was shocked when he realized the national anthem had been banned.

“It’s important that we honor and respect those who sacrificed their lives protecting the freedom that us Americans take for granted every day,” he said.

On a side note, kudos to the student journalists at California High School who first reported this story and did so by writing a fair and balanced report. It’s refreshing to see solid journalism from The Californian.

The student body president posted a letter on the high school’s website defending the decision to ban the song by citing a third verse that references “the hireling and slave.”